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cigarettes and my budget

I am trying to begin budgeting our money.but have a big question. My Dh smokes 2-3 packs a day. Should cigarettes get taken out of the budget having a separate envelope OR should it come out of his spending money?? I estimate we spend around $250-300/ mo just on cigarettes.

Okay - first - I'm not going to bash someone that posted an honest to goodness question. Geez, we're supposed to be helping each other not saying some stupid crap about contributing to the death of our spouse. Honestly, how unnecessary. She's not an idiot - I'm quite certain she's fully aware of what the potential consequences are of her husband's decision to smoke.

Sweetheart, as a former smoker, I know how hard it is to quit. But yeah, $250 to $300 is a butt-load of money. And if you think about it, it takes approximately 5 minutes to smoke 1 cigarette, 20 in a pack at approximately $5 a pack, roughly...so he's got a cigarette in his mouth about every waking moment.

I quit cold turkey over a year and a half ago. Rough. I cannot say I never wanted another one. I do all the time. I even dream about it. But, I want to be around for my family. And life insurance is now so much cheaper. I felt selfish and was pretty angry when I did the math and saw how much I was spending on myself instead of contributing to my family more.

So everyone knows - you can't make someone quit - you have to want to. So budget $200 for it. Can you make that his money?? That's quite a bit of money. Honestly sit down and discuss and show what that money could be doing. I had two jars - one had the money I budgeted for my cigarettes - the other one held the money I saved from not buying cigarettes. I had to quit cold turkey. If I knew I was going to have another one, I'd still be smoking. I stopped taking breaks outside and I ate a lot of hard candy and gum. Seeing those jars really gave me satisfaction that I was doing the right thing.

There are support groups for those that want to quit. Many will give vouchers for stuff to help quit. I know my husband's insurance offered a sponsor and the vouchers. Check and see if yours does or if there is a smoker's cessation group nearby that can help.

If he really wants to quit, help him find the right way for him. Research your options. And good luck. It's a long hard journey.

i am a smoker and so is my DH..... I will be quiting on the 1st of the year, hopefully for the last time. I had quit in September because of a surgery i had (endarterectomy) so i have a constant reminder of what smoking and bad eating habits can do to a person in the form of a 4 inch scar on my neck, why i started again i don't know just habit i guess i didn't really crave them and still don't. when i quit for that month i felt SO UNBELIEVABLE GOOD!!!!!, i could smell the flowers people had sent me, my pine trees in our yard for the first time in 13 years and i had so much energy it was just amazing.... i only smoked 1 pack a day so i can't imagine 2 to 3 per day.....Oooooooh..... man what that is doing to the arteries and the good cholesterol levels.... not good i can tell you that.

ANYWAY to answer your question: NO CIGARETTES SHOULD NOT BE ADDED INTO THE BUDGET, even as a smoker the answer out of my mouth is NO!..... my DH and I each get a set amount to spend for the week for gas, fun etc. and this includes cigarettes. once it is gone it is gone.... Cigarettes are a choice not a need therefore shouldn't be included in the budget..... if your DH baulks at this tell him this advice came from a smoker not a nonsmoker.

That is a lot of cigarettes and a lot of money. I smoke and so does DH but we both someke like 5 cigs a day now. I am trying to quit. The cig money should come out of his spending money, he needs to feel the economic impact of how much his habit is costing him. he should also go see a doc and look at ways to cut down.

He should be using his money on smokes. He should maybe try quitting. Well easier said than done. My dh has not smoked since our son was in Kindergarten. He's 23 now. I used to complain way back then. A carton of Salem was 15-20$. Then got him smoking Doral which was like 12$ a carton. Now a carton of smokes is well over 30$. If I am right that is for generic smokes. Dh did the Nicoderm patches. That a doctor gave him. He chewed gum to make up for not having the cigarette in his mouth.

Take it out of HIS spending money-you're not smoking the cigarettes, he is!

My boyfriend smokes two packs a day. When I first met him, I thought he was also bringing home more money too. He smoked on Marlboros, so 2 x 6.75 a pack x 7 days x 4 weeks came out to about $375 a MONTH! I tried everything I could think of-he wanted a truck, so I told him that it was a truck payment!

He now rolls his own, is smoking less (because the plastic cases only hold about 18 cigarettes and he only takes 2 to smoke) and the cigarettes don't burn down as quickly, plus he's not hacking like he was. His supplies run us about $50 a MONTH, so we are seeing a savings of more than $300 a month! And when he combines that with an electronic cigarette, he smokes even less.

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